Christmas in July
by Xinthos
Summary: “Mistletoe?” Ino asked curiously. “Of course!” Gai responded, “Being caught under it with someone else means you have to kiss them!” And of course, Ino, Mistletoe, and Sasuke can only equal trouble. [OneShot]


**A/N**: Not really much of a couple in this but… well, you'll see. As for why it's called Christmas in July? Well, it's because I'm writing a Christmas fic in July, really. Rated T for un-necessary cursing

**Summary:** "Mistletoe?" Ino asked curiously. "Of course!" Gai responded, "Being caught under it with someone else means you have to kiss them!" And of course, Ino, Mistletoe, and Sasuke can only equal trouble.

**Christmas in July**

When Gai had first walked back into the village shouting and screaming and wearing multi-colored spandex, of _course_ everyone in Konoha couldn't help but gather around and see what all the commotion was. And you have to give him credit; the guy sure knows how to get everyone's attention. Fast.

"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas!" He shouted loudly, even though everyone was right in front of him. The citizens of Konoha stared.

"What's Christmas?" Someone in the crowd asked. Gai smirked, showing off his sparkling white teeth.

"Christmas is truly the holiday of youth! It is a day of pine trees, red and green, and presents! Everyone exchanges gifts with each other to… um… celebrate the cheerfulness of the season!" Immediately after hearing the word presents, the crowd began murmuring to each other, talking about, of course, presents.

"Oh yes," Gai added suddenly, and the whispering quieted down so everyone could hear about this new holiday that would most certainly get them new stuff.

"There's also mistletoe!"

"Mistletoe?" Ino asked curiously.

"Of course!" He responded, "Being caught under this seasonal plant with someone means you have to kiss them!"

"You _have_ to?" She asked in disbelief. He nodded, and Ino couldn't believe her good fortune. Maybe this talk of "Christmas cheer" and whatever else Gai was babbling on about wasn't so boring after all.

"So," she started innocently, "where can we find mistletoe?"

"Fear not!" He shouted into the crowd, "I have brought some back with me!" And immediately the population that had gathered around the lunatic with the pants that were too tight for him found mistletoe being thrown at them. Ino reached to grab as much of the stuff she could, stuffing it into her pockets and Kunai pouch.

"When does the holiday start?" Naruto asked, practically glowing with excitement and completely caught up in the moment. And of course, Gai (being the overly exuberant guy that he is) hadn't bothered to find out the date when he had visited the far off western countries.

"Well… it's um… Tomorrow!" He shouted suddenly, deciding he might as well not make the already excited citizens wait. As soon as this announcement was over people rushed off to buy gifts, and for some unknown reason Konoha's economy improved ten fold that day…

* * *

Ino walked throughout Konoha on Christmas Day with a sly smile on her face and mistletoe in her pockets. This was so easy! She thanked Gai for introducing her to the wonders if her new favorite plant. All she had to do was find Sasuke, pull out a piece of mistletoe, and BAM! Instant kiss. She almost felt sorry for forehead girl. Quickly pushing that thought out of her head she continued on her search, nearly bumping into several people on the way; everyone was in a hurry.

She grinned ear to ear when she saw Sasuke disappear in an alleyway and quickly chased after him. Ino could feel her skin tingling with excitement as she ran after him, quickly turning into the alleyway… and straight into a brick wall. _What the hell…?_ She asked herself confusedly, rubbing her sore nose. Shrugging the weird moment off as her imagination, she walked out of the cramped space and continued on her search, not letting the incident deter her.

Ino made a sharp left turn and stopped in her tracks when she got a glimpse of black clothing not too far ahead. She also noticed a blonde haired figure next to him and wondered when Naruto's hair had gotten so long… Pushing the suspicious feeling aside, she hurried after them. Pulling the mistletoe out of her pocket, Ino grinned to herself as she turned the corner, grabbed the dark clothed figure, and swung him around to face her. Holding the plant above their heads she cheered in victory.

"Ha! We're under the mistletoe, see…?" That most definitely was _not_ Sasuke, and to her horror, it was… it was…

"Kankuro," Temari said with a smirk, "is there something you want to tell me?" He barely managed to stutter a 'no.'

"Damnit!" Ino cursed. "You're not Sasuke! Shit…" Frowning, she turned to him and brushed their lips together; it was the rule after all. Pushing him away hastily, Ino took off running, leaving a surprised Kankuro and an extremely amused Temari in her wake.

_Now that,_ she thought to herself while wiping her lips, _was definitely not according to plan._ Ino backtracked to where she had taken that last left turn and turned right this time, muttering curses all the way there. Finally she came to a nearly deserted part of town where she had found Sasuke on several occasions. Just around the corner she could hear footsteps slowly approaching, it just _had_ to be Sasuke! Holding that familiar plant above her head she waited until the footsteps were close enough so she could…

"There you are…!" _Oh. Crap._ Damnit Damnit Damnit…. Ino damned her bad luck to hell.

"Hi there Kakashi-san…" Kakashi smiled at her, tucking his book back into his pocket.

"Aa, I see you've got mistletoe." He said, and Ino gulped in nervousness.

"Y-yeah…"

Silence.

"…Yeeeah…"

_Awkward _Silence.

Clearing his throat, he reached for the top of his mask and pulled it down.

_Shit Shit Shit… whoa…_ Their lips touched for just a second before he pulled away, yanked his mask back up, and waved a goodbye at her. She stood staring at the spot where he had been a moment ago and grinned. At least it wasn't all bad. _I have no idea why he wears that mask with a face like his…_

Ino nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Sasuke's voice ahead and hurried along, giggling with excitement. Ino could hear him getting closer; he was just around the corner now- though she was _really_ starting to hate corners. There could be no mistake this time though; that was without a doubt, Sasuke's voice. Pulling the mistletoe out of her pocket, she held it above her head and pressed her body against the wall, hearing Team 7 approach. They were so close, Ino's heart began to pound so hard she was sure they could hear it. Just a little closer and…

"Ha! Got you!" She screamed, grabbing Sasuke bye the collar and smashing their faces together, the mistletoe held over their heads. This… this was amazing. It was spectacular, it was bliss, it was… kind of clumsy, but still everything Ino thought kissing Sasuke would be like.

It was perfect. Well… it _would_ have been…

"Ino-pig… why'd you just stick your tongue down my throat?"

Oh, this would be fun to explain.

**A/N: **Made and posted in about thirty minutes, so I apologize for any mistakes. Also, in case anyone got confused, Ino hates corners now because she kept thinking Sasuke was just around the corner but it was always someone else. I hope it wasn't too bad, though I felt it could have been much better… Oh well.

Happy Tuesday.

Oh, and happy Independence Day.


End file.
